Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 8 March (WA 433), whether the Royal Navy currently maintain "highly perishable skills" in air-borne anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface unit warfare, search and rescue, and maritime intelligence, target acquisition and reconnaissance.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Royal Navy uses agreed and approved training directives and currency regulations to sustain suitable levels of skills competency and currency in line with the capability or task allocated.
	Enhanced training to practise these skills includes: simulator training to represent an authentic all-environment battle space for airborne anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface unit warfare; national and multinational exercises; training sorties; and a continuous programme of ground training and assessments. This contributes to the development and maintenance of perishable skills. Additionally, operational experience gained in all the theatres and environments in which the Royal Navy deploys continues to enhance currency and competency.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 12 March (WA 3), what were the costs of infrastructure improvements to Kandahar airfield in financial years 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Lord Astor of Hever: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave on 6 February 2012 (Official Report, col. (WA 4). The cost of infrastructure build and maintenance on Kandahar airfield in the financial year 2010-11 was around £20 million. It is not possible to break this down further to identify the cost of improvements separately.

Armed Forces: MARS Tankers

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the impact on British jobs of awarding a contract for four Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability tankers to a South Korean shipyard, rather than to British contractors.

Lord Astor of Hever: No UK company submitted a final bid to supply the MARS tankers. Although the ships will be largely constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in their South Korean yard, UK companies will play a key role in support of the main contract. The value of this UK work content is estimated to be up to £90 million, which DSME will spend in the UK on contracts for the provision of key equipment, systems, design and support services.
	In addition, there will be further opportunities for UK industry to be involved in the customisation package that will take place in the UK when the ships have been built. This work will provide the essential classified features required for deployment and capability assessment trials. This, along with trials and specialist engineering support, will represent up to a further £60 million investment, totalling up to some £150 million of the total procurement cost to be spent in the UK.
	A separate competition for the support contract for MARS tankers, which will be run in due course, will provide further significant opportunities for UK companies to compete for work on this project.
	No assessment has been made regarding the impact on UK jobs of the decision to award the contract to DSME has been made.

Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 27 February (WA 223), whether there has been any public acknowledgement of responsibility by the Republic of Cyprus for attacks against Turkish Cypriots between Christmas 1963 and the 1974 Turkish intervention; and if not, whether they will now press for such an acknowledgement.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government are not aware of the Republic of Cyprus making any such public announcement. We have no plans to press for such an acknowledgement.

Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 27 February (WA 223), whether the phrase "allegations of violence" is consistent with the analysis of events since 1963 by the British High Commission in Nicosia, including the 12 January 1964 telegram (no. 162); and how their interpretation accords with the United Kingdom's status as a guarantor power.

Lord Howell of Guildford: In my response of 27 February (Official Report, col. WA 223) I used the term "allegations of violence" to describe events that took place between 1963 and 1974. The Government did receive reporting on the intercommunal violence between 1963 and 1974 but it is not in the position to corroborate details or apportion blame.

Energy: Generation

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to granting communities the right to invest in new energy generation projects and to take on ownership of their local electricity grid supply; and whether they will be taking any action to grant those rights.

Lord Marland: Communities, as well as individuals, are already able to invest in local energy projects, either as single bodies, or in partnership.
	We are currently encouraging community energy project through the £l0 million Local Energy Assessment Fund, PlanLoCaL training events and DECC's Community Energy Online Portal (http://ceo.decc.gov.uk). On the portal, we are encouraging communities to negotiate robustly to maximise their wider community benefit from hosting renewables.
	Private wire networks to domestic premises are a form of community-owned electricity distribution system. DECC and Ofgem have now opened up these systems to third party supplier access to enhance the value residents can derive from them.
	DECC and Ofgem are also working on Licence Lite to help small scale and community generation projects sell their electricity more easily to consumers over local electricity distribution network.
	We believe however that giving local communities a right to invest would:
	add to the burden of regulation;affect the availability of investment which could benefit the local community more widely; andset an arbitrary limit on potential benefits for the local community.

Energy: Wind and Solar Power

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Marland on 13 March (WA 39-40), based on those assessments of individual relative electricity generation costs, what are the estimated total additional financial costs to the United Kingdom economy by (1) 2020, and (2) 2030 of (a) the current policies of generating electricity by including wind and solar power, and (b) a policy of including wind power but not solar power, compared to a policy of using oil, gas and nuclear power without including wind and solar power.

Lord Marland: We have not made this assessment. The Carbon Plan1, published in December 2011, includes a range of scenarios for the future electricity market capacity mix based on a range of assumptions as to deployment potential and costs of different generation technologies.
	1 http://www.decc.gov.uk/publications/basket.aspx?filetype= 4&file path=11%2ftackling-climate-change%2fcarbon-plan %2f3702-the-carbon-plan-delivering-our-low-carbon-future.pdf&minwidth=true#basket.

Government Departments: Energy Bills

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Marland on 13 March (WA 42), where and how the information on the cost of lights left on in government buildings overnight is held.

Lord Marland: Responsibility for energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in central government buildings rests with each respective department.

Guatemala

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government what specific advice they will be providing to United Kingdom businesses regarding human rights concerns in Guatemala, in the context of the forthcoming United Kingdom trade mission to Guatemala.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The trade mission to Guatemala took place from 5 and 6 March. The participating companies were briefed on the political situation in the country both prior to leaving the UK and during the mission. During the mission, our ambassador to Guatemala briefed the mission members on the full range of the UK's work in Guatemala, including human rights.
	The Government are committed to promoting respect for human rights amongst UK companies operating anywhere overseas. Our commitment to supporting UK business internationally is entirely consistent with our determination to hold human rights at the core of our foreign policy. We support a range of international initiatives to help business respect human rights, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, which the UK co-founded. The UK was also a leading supporter of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We encourage all British companies to observe these international standards, in Guatemala and elsewhere.

Health: Cardiology

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to prioritise cardiac rehabilitation in the cardiovascular disease outcomes strategy.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure choice in cardiac rehabilitation for patients following a heart attack; and, if so, how.

Earl Howe: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) will be one of the issues considered during the development of the cardiovascular disease outcomes strategy.
	It will be for local commissioners to determine whether there will be choice in CR for patients following a heart attack. Several steps are being taken to improve the provision and take up of CR services for all eligible patients. Amongst the resources available to help commission cardiac rehabilitation services are the department's Commissioning Pack for Cardiac Rehabilitation and the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence's Guide for Commissioners on Cardiac Rehabilitation Services. These, alongside the National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation funded through the British Heart Foundation, and the NHS Improvement work to support implementation of the commissioning pack, will help ensure that commissioners have the information they need to take account of the specific needs of all patients eligible for cardiac rehabilitation in their commissioning decisions.

Health: Cardiology

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of adherence by service providers to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Clinical Guideline 48-myocardial information: secondary prevention.

Earl Howe: No assessment has been made of the level of compliance by service providers with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline on myocardial infarction: secondary prevention, published in May 2007.
	NICE clinical guidelines represent best practice and we expect commissioners to take them fully into account in their decision-making. In view of their complexity and because of the different states of readiness for implementation in the National Health Service, clinical guidelines are not subject to the same statutory funding direction as NICE's technology appraisals.

Health: Hypercholesterolaemia

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of people in England with familial hypercholesterolaemia have been formally diagnosed using the criteria recommended in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Guideline 71-identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia.

Earl Howe: We do not hold this information. However, the prevalence of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) in the United Kingdom population is estimated to be 1 in 500, which means that approximately 110,000 people in the UK are affected.
	FH will be one of the issues considered during the development of the Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Strategy.

Health: Pneumococcal Disease

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the cost to the National Health Service of treating pneumococcal disease in people with chronic respiratory disease.

Earl Howe: The information is not available because the department does not collect the cost to the National Health Service of treating individual diagnoses.

House of Lords: Staff

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask the Chairman of Committees what is the annual cost of Black Rod's Department.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: The forecast resource cost of Black Rod's Office in 2011-12 is £1.19 million.

Housing

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the proposal announced in the Autumn Statement to subsidise the purchase of new houses has received clearance under state aid rules and Financial Services Authority approval; and whether they have assessed the impact on demand for, and the valuation of, existing housing stock.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will take action to ensure the subsidy proposed for the purchase of newly built houses will not be reflected in higher selling prices by builders; and, if so, how.

Baroness Hanham: The NewBuy Guarantee Scheme will help up to 100,000 households into homeownership. Government will conduct a review of the scheme after two years, to ensure that there has been an appropriate and positive effect on the price, demand and supply of new build properties, and the availability of 95% loan-to-value mortgages.
	The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has provided specific guidance for its members on the correct valuation of new build properties entering the scheme. A monitoring group co-ordinated by the Department for Communities and Local Government and including the Home Builders Federation and the Council of Mortgage Lenders will meet regularly to review the progress and operation of the scheme, including trends in pricing and valuation.
	Over the past six financial years new homes have represented 14% of total transactions on average, and this suggests that new build prices will have a very small impact on overall house prices. In addition, only a proportion of new build transactions will be captured by the NewBuy Guarantee scheme.
	The Financial Services Authority has approved the scheme, and the European Commission has indicated informally that it complies with state aid rules.

Pensions

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who receive the United Kingdom state old-age pension are living in (1) the United Kingdom, (2) Bangladesh, (3) India, (4) Pakistan, and (5) the United States; what is the mean and median age of each of those groups; and what data-matching techniques are used to ascertain whether any payments are being made on the basis of fraudulent claims.

Lord Freud: The information you requested is set out in the table below.
	
		
			 Table A: Comparison of Mean/Median Average Ages of Recipients of State Pension 
			 State Pension Recipients : May 2011 
			 Country of Residence All Recipients Mean Average Age Median Average Age 
			 Great Britain 11,442,300 74 72 
			 Bangladesh 2,310 76 76 
			 India 5,060 73 73 
			 Pakistan 4,480 77 77 
			 USA 139,040 75 75 
		
	
	The department does have a data matching programme in order to prevent and identify fraudulent claims. We have data exchanges in place with Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Malta, Spain and the Channel Islands. We are in discussions with many other countries regarding pensions and death data matching (including an element for sickness and mean-tested benefits) and will imminently be signing a data matching exchange with Sweden. We also purchase data from overseas and we buy death indexes from USA with very good results.
	In addition to data matching with other countries we also data match with the Royal Mail (Do not Redirect) and with the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) regarding overseas deaths.
	Source Table A: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study
	1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10, mean and median age to the nearest whole number: totals may not sum due to rounding.
	2. Country code for abroad cases as recorded on the department's administrative systems. This is not necessarily the claimant's permanent place of residence.
	3. DWP does not hold benefit statistics for Northern Ireland. Benefit statistics are published on the Department for Social Development Northern Ireland's (DSDNI) website at http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats.

Roads: Pedestrians

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 5 March (WA 395) regarding pedestrian priority on pavements, whether they will take action through signage or other means to ensure that cyclists and drivers of motor vehicles are aware of the law.

Earl Attlee: The Department for Transport has no plans to take any additional action in this respect. The onus is on all road users to familiarise themselves with the rules of the Highway Codes for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including those concerning the use of pavements.

Sudan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Sudan about their alleged aerial bombardment of villages in South Kordofan; what response they have received; and what is their estimate of casualties.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are greatly concerned by reports that the Sudanese Armed Forces have carried out aerial bombardments, and condemn any such action that puts civilians at risk. We raise these concerns in all contacts with the Government of Sudan, at both ministerial and official level. Most recently, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham) raised the issue with Foreign Minister Karti during the African Union summit on 27 January. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development, the honourable Member for Eddisbury (Mr O'Brien) also raised concerns in his meetings during his visit to Sudan earlier this month.
	Due to the lack of access in the state of Southern Kordofan, we cannot corroborate any estimate of the number of casualties resulting from these bombings.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reports of Aegis Trust that 1.2 million people are now affected by war in South Kordofan, that there are 300,000 internally displaced people in the region and there are now 20,000-30,000 refugees in Southern Kordofan; and what assessment they have made of reports of aerial bombardment of the region by Antonov war places and the alleged burning of villages and targeting of homes, farms, churches and wells.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The figures quoted by the Aegis Trust match the estimates made by the United Nations Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the numbers of civilians affected by the conflict in Southern Kordofan. 300,000 people are either displaced or severely conflict-affected, and this is the number judged to be in need of humanitarian assistance. 26,000 refugees from Southern Kordofan have arrived in South Sudan.
	Indiscriminate bombing and targeting of civilians and their property is unacceptable conduct and may constitute violations of international humanitarian law. We strongly condemn the use of indiscriminate methods that put civilians at risk and we call on both parties to cease hostilities. We have repeatedly condemned unacceptable cross-border activity, including support to proxies, and cross-border aerial bombardment in the case of the Sudanese Armed Forces.
	We continue to call for humanitarian access and credible and independent investigation. We fully support the joint United Nations, African Union and Arab League proposal to deliver humanitarian aid to Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states and are urging the Government of Sudan to respond positively to it.
	Through our funding to the Common Humanitarian Fund in Sudan, we support national non-governmental organisations to deliver humanitarian assistance in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states although this is currently only in respect of government-held areas.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy on maintaining diplomatic relations with countries led by indicted war criminals and those responsible for crimes against humanity; and whether they have considered downgrading diplomatic relations with the Government of Sudan in the light of the alleged atrocities in South Kordofan.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We believe that at the current time, a critical dialogue with the Government of Sudan is the policy which gives us the most opportunity to advance our objectives of peace, stability and prosperity to benefit the people of Sudan. Isolating the Sudanese Government would limit our options in support of our overall goal of peace and development for all the people of Sudan, the resolution of outstanding issues with South Sudan and regional stability.
	We fully support the International Criminal Court and, along with European Union partners, follow a policy restricting our contact with those in Sudan who have been indicted by the court. We also frequently remind other countries of their obligation to cooperate with the court.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what statements have been made, and when, by the Foreign Secretary regarding the alleged aerial bombardment of South Kordofan; what instructions he has given to United Kingdom diplomats to pursue this issue during the United Kingdom's presidency of the United Nations Security Council; whether officials have discussed with the Government of China the feasibility of imposing a no-fly zone in the region for the protection of citizens; and what assessment they have made of the role of the United Nations and African Union soldiers in the region.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We discuss the situation in Sudan regularly with China and with other members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, both bilaterally and in council meetings, including the need to secure an end to the violence in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. The presidential statement of 6 March, agreed by all the members of the Security Council under the UK's presidency, called on the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North to agree an immediate ceasefire, return to direct talks to resolve the issues underlying the current conflict and to allow humanitarian access.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), made statements on 14 June and 28 June 2011 after the outbreak of fighting in Southern Kordofan. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), made statements about the situation on 24 August and in the other place on 7 September 2011 (Official Report, Commons, col. 23WS-25WS). A Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokesperson set out our concerns at the continued fighting on 10 February 2012. The texts of all these statements are available on the FCO's website at www.fco.gov.uk.
	There is currently no United Nations or African Union peacekeeping presence in Southern Kordofan or Blue Nile. A UN peacekeeping mission has been established in respect of Abyei, an area whose final status is to be determined. We judge that it has been effective in peacebuilding within the Abyei area. In December, the Security Council also gave it a mandate in respect of a joint border verification and monitoring mechanism. We support efforts to bring this mechanism into operation as a confidence-building measure between Sudan and South Sudan in the border regions.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will propose that the United Nations Security Council conduct an inquiry into crimes against humanity in South Kordofan, including the possibility of referral to the International Criminal Court and consideration of enforcement of existing International Criminal Court arrest warrants.

Lord Howell of Guildford: In his statement of 28 June 2011, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) called for a full investigation into events in Southern Kordofan, and the allegations of aerial bombardment and targeting of individuals based on their ethnicity. We continue to believe that such an investigation should be carried out, but a lack of access to the area currently prevents this.
	Referral of the situation in Southern Kordofan to the International Criminal Court would require a United Nations Security Council Resolution. We have concerns that a number of International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants, including in respect of Sudan (Darfur) remain outstanding, and together with our European Union partners we frequently remind all United Nations member states of their obligations to co-operate with the ICC, including its arrest warrants and its investigations.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy concerning the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of South Sudan; whether they will consider using local agencies to deliver aid in the absence of non-governmental organisations in the region; and whether they have considered ending the programme of debt relief to the Government of Sudan in the light of its leadership being indicated for crimes against humanity.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We regularly raise the issue of humanitarian access with the Government of Sudan. We fully support the joint United Nations, African Union and Arab League proposal to deliver humanitarian aid to Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states and are urging the Government of Sudan to respond to it. We are aware that many non-governmental organisations have stopped working in border states of South Sudan due to increased conflict and risk of conflict. There have also been a number of incidents reported by the United Nations (UN) Mission in South Sudan of obstruction of access by UN agencies to border areas. We support the UN's policy of setting up refugee camps outside conflict zones and encouraging refugees to move to safe areas until a lasting peace can be achieved.
	The UK has told the Government of Sudan that it continues to support its aspiration to receive debt relief under the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative, recognising that Sudan's large external debt burden impacts significantly on the economic prospects for the country and its people. But we, along with other participants in the multilateral debt process, have long made clear that this is subject to certain political conditions being met, including genuine progress towards inclusive peace and justice in Darfur, and resolving the outstanding issues from the comprehensive peace agreement.

Turkey

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent arrests of the Turkish journalists Mr Ahmet Sik and Mr Nedim Sener in Turkey.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government have not made specific assessments of the arrests of Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener.
	We share the concerns expressed by the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and others over issues surrounding freedom of expression in Turkey. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and I discussed human rights with Egemen Bagis, the Turkish Minister for European Union Affairs at a meeting on 1 March.
	We welcome the Turkish Government's recent proposals on judicial reform as an important step towards improving freedom of expression and are encouraged by the fact that further reforms are planned. Along with our European Union partners, we will continue to press for further progress on this urgent issue.